Hitachi's P50X901 plasma HDTV comes with an impressively complete selection of audio and video controls, but this stylishly modern flat-panel television has some major picture-quality issues. Its 50-inch, 1,920-by-1,080-pixel screen updates every other horizontal line per cycle, effectively making it an interlaced display. In addition, relatively high black levels result in poor average picture contrast. With an ever-increasing selection of true 1080p sets offering better contrast with fewer artifacts associated with interlacing, I find it hard to recommend the set for serious video aficionados.

The glass-topped face and inch-thin side trim give the set a sleek appearance, and it's durable and easy to clean. Beneath its flat glass surface are standard-size bezels that, with the parameter trim, add a 2.8-inch black border around the active portion of the screen. The P50X901 also features a remote-controlled power swivel stand that can rotate the screen up to 40 degrees both to the left and right80 degrees of total swivel motion. I've yet to meet anyone who wasn't impressed upon learning that the remote control actually swivels the set. With its stand attached, the P50X901 measures 34.9 by 49.3 by 16.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 111.9 pounds. Without its stand, the P50X901's height shrinks to 32.2 inches, and the panel depth is an even 5 inches.

A unique feature of Hitachi's Director Series televisions is the inclusion of a second, simplified remote control that is just big enough to fit comfortably into the palm of an average-size hand. The standard-size remote also offers a comfortable grip, and I like its well-spaced, and clearly labeled, button layout. Using codes provided in the manual, the primary remote can be used to control a variety of additional A/V devices, such as cable/satellite set-top boxes, DVD players, and VCRs.

You get a nice set of HD-compatible video connections, including three HDMI ports (one front-mounted) and two component video inputs. There's also a CableCARD slot and an RF input that can be used with the TV's analog and digital tuners. A front-mounted SD card slot allows for easy viewing of stored digital images. Photo viewing was speedy with a grid of thumbnail images, but 10-megapixel JPEG images from my SanDisk Extreme III SD card, averaging about 3.8MB per file, took nearly 40 seconds to fill the screen.

The display is composed of 1,920 by 1,080 discrete pixels, but unlike most flat-panel televisions, it's not a progressive-scan screen. The HDMI ports can accept a 1080p60 (60-Hz) video signal, but this (and all) video information is converted to the set's native 1080i format for display. Component video inputs (YPbPr) accept up to 1080i formatted video signals. Using a convenient aspect ratio control button on the TV's remote, I was able to eliminate detail-destroying image overscan with all HD resolutions and with either HDMI or component video input. The only other displays I've seen that offer complete HD overscan control are 1080p Sharp LCDs, such as the Sharp Aquos LC-32GP3U-R. Standard-definition overscan was an acceptable 6 percent.

I appreciate HDTVs that provide comprehensive picture controls in the regular user menus, and the P50X901 has some of the most complete and effective A/V controls I've seen. Some of the TV's control highlights include day and night picture mode presets that can be controlled manually or via the set's clock. Color controls included white balance, color management, and color decoding. The game mode feature is effective at minimizing video delay (caused by processing) that can interfere with console game play. Among the various audio controls is a lip-sync adjustment control, along with a volume-leveling feature.

Initial color measurements revealed that the P50X901 defaults to a wide color gamut that exceeds the gamut used in HD video production, resulting in a colorful, albeit oversaturated picture. A picture menu setting can be used to constrain the color gamut to normal HD levels for a more accurate and natural-looking picture. Performing a full calibration of the set resulted in some of the most accurate color responses I've seen from any HDTV. Nonetheless, the darkest shades on a grayscale chart exhibited some purple contamination that was difficult to minimize.

One drawback of this set's interlaced display technology is that it's unable to match the black-level response of other plasmas, like the LG 50PY3D, the Panasonic TH-42PZ700U, and the downright amazing (but expensive) Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-150FD. Average dark measurement calculated from a 9-point sample taken from a checkerboard test pattern was an unimpressive 0.44 Cd/m2, resulting in a poor average contrast ratio of 212:1. The set's too-bright black levels makes the black bars of letterboxed movies quite obvious in a dark environment, and with typical room lighting, dark details and colors appeared slightly more washed out than they do on plasmas capable of darker black levels.

I found that the P50X901 delivered a detailed and pleasing viewing experience overall with SD video but had a tendency to exaggerate banding artifacts present in the source material, as was the case with the wall in the background of the scene at the start of Chapter 7 in the movie The Fifth Element, where Bruce Willis makes his first appearance.

The P50X901's "Reel60" video-processing technology practically eliminates the shaking artifact known as judder in HD video: Panning shots are quite smooth when this feature is enabled. The effect was similar to that of the "TruM" processing in the LG 47LBX. Still, I noticed that this motion-smoothing feature occasionally failed for a brief time, resulting in an abrupt switch between a smooth motion and one with obvious judder.

Also, because the P50X901 is an interlaced display, classic (and distracting) interlaced video artifacts, such as jagged edges and flicker, were occasionally seen in the picture. One troublesome scene was the "birth" of Darth Vader in the HD broadcast of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Jagged edges were obvious on many of the droids in the scene, along with the curves of the moving helmet on Anakin's head. I also noticed that the transitions to other camera angles or scenes in Sith (and other movies) occasionally introduced distracting flicker artifacts. As with SD sources, banding artifacts were apparent in some fine color gradientsparticularly if the banding is present in the encoded video. Banding was also obvious on the arm of the therapist's red leather chair in a scene from the broadcast and disc-based HD versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

With default picture settings, power consumption calculations put the set's monthly operating cost at $12.23based on 8 hours of daily operation at $0.13 per kWh (a local average). Configured for dark-room viewing using the night picture preset brought the monthly operating cost down slightly to $10.82. These results are similar to those of the 50-inch LG 50PY3D plasma television's default and calibrated operating-cost calculations of $13.81 and $10.64, respectively.

The Hitachi P50X901 is a rarity in that it's a flat-panel television that operates as an interlaced displaycomplete with the occasional (and distracting) artifacts related to interlaced video. While the set incorporates practically every audio and video control I could ever ask for in an HDTV, there was no overcoming its relatively poor black levels and apparent image contrast and color saturation. Two years ago, this set's black levels would have been admirable, but these days this set just can't compete with true 1080p plasmas.

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